Polyphasic Sleep

Step 8 2007-08-30

1AM nap: Big Mistake. I lay down for this a few minutes late as Matt had started his a few minutes late and was only just getting up. We snuggled for a moment... and Boom! out like lights, both of us. We woke up at 7. I think that I must be missing not REM sleep but deep sleep, as I nearly always remember some kind of dream although almost never any details. But I also always hear the alarm and wake up to it... except this time, when I slept through 3: the 1AM wake-up and the 5AM nap-time and wake-up alarms (I have all my naps pre-programmed on my iPhone).

Well, back-on-horse. I showered, and ate some of last night's Thai. I'm not feeling shaky any more which is a relief. I am feeling dead tired, like I could sleep for a week. Of course, I am planning instead to Not sleep for another week...

9AM nap: Took this, no problem falling asleep. In fact I have rarely had any difficulty falling asleep at the desired times, only in getting up again. Ate some more Thai (we got an awful lot of it), rode the bicycle for a couple miles. Had most of a tuna melt around noon.

1PM nap: Napped. Awoke. Nothing much to say about it.

5PM nap: Ditto. I'm feeling much better than yesterday, but the slight shakiness has returned. I'm not feeling tired as such, just slightly shaky inside, much as I would feel if I'd not eaten for ten hours or so. However, I have eaten (Thai again, and there's enough for at least another solid meal), and I'm not hungry. This is a bit worrisome but we'll see how it goes.

My 9 PM nap will be early as I'm going out to a show tonight, wherein I do not think napping will be possible. I suppose it won't be any more harmful to the acclimatization than last night. I am having some trouble at this point believing that I will ever acclimatize. At the beginning of this experiment I thought it likely I would fail through lack of discipline, but had no doubt that it was a pattern physically possible. Now I am finding myself quite remarkably disciplined, more so than I expected, but feel that my body may simply not be up to this.

In fairness, I haven't got through even as much of this as the most optimistic Internet accounts suggest. 5 days to the start of acclimatization is the earliest I read, with others suggesting it takes a week or even two, and while this is my sixth day, I haven't managed to keep fully on schedule (plus I am rather older than the other people I know of who have tried this, mostly college kids). So I will remain with it a while longer, as I May Be Wrong (tm).

9PM nap: Didn't manage to take this early so I took it late, around 11PM, and was VERY ready for it. Woke up tired and cranky and shaky. Am tired of being tired and cranky and shaky. Ate more Thai food.

Comments

[alternativesurfer]

As with brainmist, since i started going to college i fall asleep at 4am, and wake up around 930/10am. I have tried to fall asleep earlier, won't happen, and now since all my classes were early, i'm unable to sleep past 10. Kills me, but the repetition really lays down a pretty unbreakable cycle. So keep going for it, you'll reach your goal, but keep in mind that you may not be able to break it once you reach it.

[oinkoinkzoopals]

my docter told me that some people need less sleep than others so if you only can sleep for 5-6 hours then thats how long it takes for your body to rest

[leokho]

hey! happens the same to me, but thought I go to bed a bit earlier and I also wake up earlier. but the wierdest thing is that all day I'm very sleepy actually but when it comes to about 7/8 pm I lose all my sleep and then I can only fall asleep really late. Thought these summer vacations I have been able to straighten out. (bit by bit).

[brainmist]

Good luck...but don't push yourself too hard on this! As a night person in a day people world, I am chronically sleep deprived...and as a consequence of always having to get up in the morning, I've pretty well lost my ability to sleep in. I average 4-6 hours a night, with the occasional spurts of 2-4 hours for several days at a time. I'm tired all the time; I can tell I'm supplementing with food (sounds like you are too!) but my energy level is low and getting lower. I know it contributes to moodiness, forgetfulness, vertigo (yes, vertigo!), aphasia, neurotic behavior, occasional paranoia...I'm loathe to try drugs...I've already found myself doing things while asleep, and shudder to think of driving that way. Plus, I have this deep, well-supported distrust of drug companies. I guess my point is, I'm stuck now in a cycle which will make this situation worse. I absolutely can get by on a few daily hours of sleep for days and even weeks at a time, with no prospect of ever replacing those lost hours. But I am not better for it...not by a long shot!! It's 10:30 now. I'm always tired, but if I'm lucky, I'll be sleepy by 2. Or 3.

[oinkoinkzoopals]

ive been like that since the 6th grade (9th grade currently) and its hell the only time i fall asleep easily is durin the wrestling season when im food deprived and constantly working out

[srisdal]

Inositol is a B vitamin that will knock you right out. Magnesium, when taken with calcium and an acid base (like Vitamin C) will help your muscles relax. Some people are so sensitive to caffeine, one cup of coffee will prevent them from falling asleep, no matter what, until the body is too worn out to stay awake any more. A good nutritionist can help you figure out what you need nutritionally.

[anshuvio2]

how long have you had that cycle?. the longer you have it, the harder it will be to break it, i know this from experience. try doing what M3mph1s said and maybe eat some turkey or some bananas. they help relax. Also, try forcing yourself to go to bed at the time you want to fall asleep and setting the alarm for when you want to normally get up. The body will realize that this is your new "routine" and it will adjust after a while i.e. several weeks Good luck

[M3mph1s]

Odd tip, but it's worked for me every once in a while (i've got lots of sleeping problems...) Do a good exercise! Run/jog/walk for half an hour, get exhausted, take a quick shower, and hop into bed. With luck, that aching feeling in every muscle from being exhausted will help you fall asleep pretty fast. Just a suggestion, i wish you the best of luck, this coming from someone who suffers sleep problems as well...

[haptotrope]

So I'm curious... how would it work if you cooked, say a high carb meal, then napped... then woke and went about your day. There is a book called "potatoes not prozac" which also keys into the sleep process and the complex carbohydrates and the seratonin creation. Also then you'd mimic the Spanish culture... eat much food, then nap. :-) Good luck!

[Ctrl Alt Jack]

Very interesting. I've been working the night shift for a couple years now (with a few months break for military training) and I've learned to take advantage of my circadian rhythms. I get very sleepy at about 1:30 am & pm almost no matter what, so I normally try to fall asleep as close to those hours as possible. I know that if I try to fall asleep between 5pm and 8pm it's extremely difficult, but at 9 pm it's easy to fall asleep, just when I'm ready to go to work. Also I feel very awake and happy normally from about 3 am until the afternoon if I'm awake during that time and if I've had enough sleep the day before. My sleep schedule changes with every semester, so currently I'm napping for a couple hours in the afternoon and a few hours in the early morning and I love it. I love being able to stay up till midnight getting things done.

[Biotele]

When you match your sleep time with your circadian rhythm, you increase the quality of your sleep (you feel more rested).

http://www.jcircadianrhythms.com/content/4/1/8/figure/F1?highres=y

[connorcancount!]

you can do it! When I am out of school, this is definately on my to do list.

[YankInOz]

By the way - try pzizz - you can goggle it - it helps - you can use the energizer bit - I bought it for the sleep thingo because everyone (and I do mean "everyone") siad I needed more sleep. BUT I found that the energizer nap - 20 minutes at a time was perfect for my schedule. Not a spam plug - I am only a customer - but you may find that they have a tool you can use. Adn you can load it on your iPod, if you wish. ;)